Articles Tagged with best interest

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Joseph Ambrosole from the securities industry for six months.  Mr. Ambrosole consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that he excessively and unsuitably traded the accounts of two customers.  FINRA also fined Mr. Ambrosole, who was also suspended by FINRA in 2017 for unethical sales practices, $5,000 and ordered him to pay $147,031.50 in restitution.

Mr. Ambrosole, who has only eight years of experience in the securities industry, has a history of associations disreputable broker-dealers, customer complaints, and regulatory sanctions.

The alleged conduct occurred while Mr. Ambrosole was employed by Joseph Stone Capital L.L.C. in New York, New York.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has sanctioned Dawson James Securities, Inc. (“Dawson James”) for charging customers excessive commissions.  On April 6, 2021, FINRA and Dawson James entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) whereby Dawson James accepted the following sanctions:

  • a censure;
  • a $20,000 fine; and

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred broker Gregory Mancuso from the securities industry for providing false testimony during an on-the-record interview connected with an investigation into Mr. Mancuso’s handling of the brokerage accounts of two senior sisters with disabilities. The alleged conduct occurred while Mr. Mancuso was registered with BMA Securities, LLC, from August 2, 2016, to November 13, 2017.

On December 21, 2020, FINRA’s Department of Enforcement filed a complaint against Mr. Mancuso, alleging that Mr. Mancuso had his two elderly customers transfer a large part of their life savings to a company with which he was affiliated.   One of the sisters was 73 years old and had dementia.  The other sister was 68 years old and had multiple sclerosis.   The complaint alleges that in 2017, Mancuso recommended that the elder sister use funds from her 401(k) account to purchase a variable annuity offered by a purported Swiss asset management firm, which Mr. Mancuso was affiliated.   The complaint also alleges that Mr. Mancuso testified falsely during an on-the-record interview to conceal both his involvement in the transfer and actions he took to potentially change one of the sister’s power of attorney.

Mr. Mancuso failed to respond to the FINRA complaint.   FINRA’s Department of Enforcement then requested a default decision, which the hearing officer granted.

On March 31, 2021, a FINRA Dispute Resolution Services arbitration panel in Columbus, Ohio, ordered UBS Financial Services, Inc. (“UBS”) to pay customers over $372,000 in compensatory damages and fees.  The claimants, Matthew and Lisa Fisher alleged that UBS and brokers Ortal Shachar and Richard Mark Held presented the Yield Enhancement Strategy (“YES”), an options strategy, as low risk. In actuality, the complexity and nature of YES exposed the Claimants to a significant risk of loss.

This order is the second arbitration award against UBS in March 2021 concerning YES and the third since December 2020.   On March 5, 2021, another FINRA arbitration panel in Denver, Colorado, ordered UBS to pay customers over $1 million in compensatory damages.     In December 2020, a FINRA arbitration panel in Boca Raton, Florida, awarded a customer nearly $90,000.

UBS has faced numerous lawsuits from customers in the form of FINRA securities arbitrations related to YES, a complex managed options strategy that UBS marketed as safe and market-neutral. The customers have claimed that the strategy was not suitable for them and that UBS materially misrepresented and omitted the risks of the strategy.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has sanctioned Securities America, Inc. (“Securities America”) for failing to reasonably supervise brokers’ recommendations of the LJM Preservation & Growth Fund.  On March 29, 2021, FINRA and Securities America entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) whereby Securities America accepted the following sanctions:

  • a censure;
  • a $100,000 fine;

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has sanctioned J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. (“J.W. Cole”) for failing to reasonably supervise brokers’ recommendations of the LJM Preservation & Growth Fund.  On March 18, 2021, FINRA and J.W. Cole entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) whereby J.W. Cole accepted the following sanctions:

  • a censure;
  • a $50,000 fine;

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has sanctioned Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. (“Cambridge”) for failing to reasonably supervise brokers’ recommendations of the LJM Preservation & Growth Fund.  On March 29, 2021, FINRA and Cambridge entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) whereby Cambridge accepted the following sanctions:

  • a censure;
  • a $400,000 fine;

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred stockbroker Charles Thomas Stevens from the securities industry for failing to appear and provide on-the-record testimony.

On December 1, 2020, FINRA’s Department of Enforcement filed a three-cause complaint against Mr. Stevens.  The first cause of action charged that Mr. Stevens willfully failed to disclose a judgment and three tax liens on his Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer (Form U4).  The second cause of action alleged that Mr. Stevens falsely represented to his firm that he did not have any unreported liens.  The third cause of action alleged that Mr. Stevens failed twice to appear and testify at an on-the-record interview.

Mr. Stevens then failed to appear at two-pear hearing conferences scheduled by the hearing officer.  FINRA’s Department of Enforcement then requested a default decision, which the hearing officer granted.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended stockbroker Victor A. Rigoni, III from the securities industry for three months.  FINRA accepted an Offer of Settlement submitted by Mr. Rigoni after FINRA’s Department of Enforcement filed a disciplinary complaint against Mr. Rigoni in August 2020.   The complaint alleged that from August 2012 through March 2019, Mr. Rigoni willfully failed to timely amend his Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer (Form U4) to disclose six unsatisfied federal and state tax liens totaling $164,521.  On average, Mr. Rigoni disclosed his tax liens almost three-and-a-half years late.  Mr. Rigoni also never disclosed a state tax lien of $11,304.

Mr. Rigoni has been associated with the following broker-dealers:

  • Cetera Advisor Networks LLC in Lake Forest, Illinois, from September 2019 to August 2020.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has barred broker Jeremy Taylor Johnson from the securities industry.  FINRA expelled Mr. Johnson from the brokerage industry for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation into the suitability and potential misrepresentations and omissions related to Johnson’s offer and sale of two securities offerings while associated with Torch Securities, LLC.

Mr. Johnson entered the securities industry in 2019 when he associated with Torch Securities, LLC (“Torch Securities”) and registered with FINRA as a Private Securities Offerings.  His employment ended in April 2021.

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